In his letter,
the archbishop recalled the “chilling number of 85,000 abortions in
Spain in 2004,” which he blamed on the State for failing “to protect
and look after the physical integrity of its citizens.”

Christians
reject abortion, he said, not only for religious reasons, but also
because “logically it is incomprehensible.” He rejected the idea
that acceptance of abortion is a sign of social progress. “It’s
not a question of legality, or of social progress, but of respect for
life,” he added.

Archbishop
Rodriguez Plaza also reached out to women who have had abortions
because of “pressure from society or a lack of alternatives,” saying he
wished to convey to them a “message of hope,” and he expressed his
support for crisis pregnancy centers that “provide pregnant women with
alternatives.”

Likewise, the
archbishop criticized a newly passed law in Spain on assisted
reproduction, which he said “shows no respect whatsoever for the
embryo, and even goes so far as to employ the unscientific concept of
pre-embryo.” Echoing the words of Pope Benedict XVI to the
members of the Pontifical Academy of Life, he said, “The Bible
expresses love for each human being, even before he is formed in his
mother’s womb.”

“The love of God
for all human beings is already present at the beginning of the life of
the embryo before it is implanted in the womb of its mother,” the
archbishop stated.